Thursday, September 24, 2009

Ollie Corrects The Interviewer

Former Col. Oliver North ribbed a reporter during The Vitae Foundation dinner Thursday night, after The Notebook asked him in an interview about his participation in the "anti-abortion" event.

"Let me correct what you just said . . . I'm here for a pro-life event," North said, correcting the interviewer. "There's a difference."

*WATCH EXCHANGE ABOVE*

While the terms "pro-life" and "pro-choice" are familiar terms, journalists are usually trained to stay away from the politically charged terms. Instead, they're taught to use words like "anti-abortion activists" or "abortion rights supporters." It doesn't always happen. In many stories, both types of phrases are used to avoid redundancy.

In the touchy tussle over language, both sides also like to define their opposition on their own terms. For instance, self-proclaimed "pro-lifers" often use the "pro-abortion" label to describe their opponents. They don't like the "pro-choice" categorization. On the other hand, abortion rights activists routinely scold media outlets for using the "pro-life" term to describe their own opponents.

For a second . . . Try not to think about the language you favor, but rather, ponder what language seems most fair to describe both sides.